Our family of five (3 kids, 18, 16, 12) fly into Zurich at 8 in the morning, and spend the night in Lucerne. We have traveled Europe extensively, and are inclined to skip Zurich and go directly to Lucerne. Our theory is that Zurich will fall in the category of lovely, large, lakeside European city. Is it a must see? If we did anything, we would likely drop our bags and the train station and walk to the lake for a swim. Anybody think Zurich is a must do?? Thanks
Posted by
Chicago
8165 posts
Try it the kids without preconceived notions may like it.
Posted by
Baltimore, MD, USA
66 posts
what if i told you that you could check out -- on your own, for free -- a museum of wax models of skin diseases? is that something your family would be into?
Posted by
Corvallis OR
7158 posts
I've not been to Zurich, but being the large cosmopolitan city that it is, I'm sure that there is plenty to see and do there even for just a short visit. However, and I'm not being snarky or sarcastic, but in my opinion if all you would do there is walk to the lake for a swim, I'd give it a miss and go straight to Lucerne. You can take a dip in a lake anywhere.
Hopefully others will chime in with some sights worth seeing in a few hours.
Posted by
Seattle, WA
17427 posts
Zurich is a major business and financial center; the home of several major insurance companies. I wouldn’t describe it as “beautiful” but the oldtown area has some charm The train station on is on the river, not the lake. It is a mile walk down to the lakeside arboretum, which is described as an “unofficial lido” but not the best for swimming.
https://www.inyourpocket.com/zurich/arboretum_65411v
I would go straight to Luzern, drop bags at your hotel, and go for a swim there.
Posted by
182 posts
FWIW, I LOVE Zurich!
If you had the opportunity to take the walking city tour (90 minutes) through the TI, you'd discover some hidden gems!
Posted by
OP
10 posts
Thanks for the advice. Lola, I think you’re right. Straight to Lucerne. Sometimes you just need to say something is not that amazing. Thanks again. You had me at insurance hub. lol.
Posted by
OP
10 posts
Sorry wynoka, I saw your reply late. That 90 minute walking tour through TI sounds like a pretty good option too. We will be battling jetlag, so distraction is nice. Thanks for the response.
Posted by
Los Angeles
4853 posts
Rick goes into quite a bit of detail on his suggested walking tour, you should see if anything works for you.
However, if you're going to Lucerne anyway, I'd say just go there since it's pretty damn nice.
Posted by
Paris
7301 posts
Zürich is very compact, and a 2-3 hour stroll (lake swim included) can be very rewarding. The old town is cute, especially west of the Limmat river.